


Cozy Crush

by Kitsune_Moonstar



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Baking, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, Self-Indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:15:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24496315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitsune_Moonstar/pseuds/Kitsune_Moonstar
Summary: Bitty ends up bringing Jack as his assistant for a baking competition.  After all, the ice isn't the only place they make a good team.
Relationships: Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann
Comments: 8
Kudos: 166





	Cozy Crush

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Check Please or its characters. I also don't own Sugar Rush.

In an unexpected complication, the filming schedule rules out just about every helper he could have brought with him. Bitty had been thrilled to be accepted onto a Netflix cooking show, but he hadn't realized how tricky it would be to schedule filming. Which was why he was on the phone with the production assistant.

"I have someone I can bring as an assistant for those dates, but it will make it harder to slot me in dependant on the episode themes and guest judges," he explained. "My boyfriend is happy to do it. However, he's a NHL hockey player, his father's a retired hockey legend, and his mother's a supermodel and actress. Conflicts of interest will happen." Bitty rolled his eyes at Jack even as the woman continued to talk. She clearly had never heard of Jack Zimmermann before, but that could be easily solved. "Google Jack Zimmermann. That should help."

The woman still talked at him for another twenty minutes, but it seems like that particular issue had been fixed. And Bitty let Jack distract him from the rest of the day. Besides, there were plenty of other things he could worry about in the meantime. He had a bakery he was just getting off of the ground and his boyfriend's team was heading towards the playoffs. They both had plenty on their plates without worry about what episode they might get assigned to. As long as they stuck to the dates mentioned, which were in Jack's off season, everything should be fine.

It's later, after the Falconers had been knocked out in the third round of playoffs, that Bitty gets the call with his assigned days for filming. He won't be informed of details like what sort of theme or recipes he needs to prepare until much closer to the filming date. But eventually, the cat is let out of the bag, and Bitty actually feels a little bit smug at the theme. "Cozy Autumn" was something that Bitty could do and do well. He spent the final two weeks before filming planning out his bakes and practicing the recipes until he was sure he knew what he was doing. Jack was perfectly happy to practice the parts that will be required of him because of course he was. It might be the off season, but Jack Zimmermann still worked harder than God.

That didn't stop the nerves from settling in as they got situated on the plane. They were flying out to film for the next two days and then would be flying back to Providence. It would be a busy forty-eight hours, and Bitty was already imagining all of the things that could go wrong. Thankfully, Jack seemed to be an oasis of calm, so at least one of them was on top of things. It was probably thanks to Jack that they had arrived at the airport on time and with everything that Bitty had planned on bringing. He was pretty sure that he'd planned for everything, but there was that niggling voice in the back of his head.

"Do you want the window seat, Bits?"

"Thanks, sweetpea."

Despite his concerns, Bitty did manage to fall asleep on the plane. Jack managed to get a rather groggy Bitty through baggage claim and out to the car that was waiting for them. Their hotel wasn't far away, and it didn't take long for the two of them to get check into their room. Of course, that left them with the problem of what to do for the rest of the night. Tomorrow, filming would start, but until then, they were at loose ends.

Maybe not unsurprisingly they ended up getting room service and watching baking shows. It the sort of nice quiet evening in that they often had during Jack's season. And it was a good way to wind down and relax since tomorrow wasn't likely to relaxing in the slightest. Still, it was the opportunity of a lifetime for Bitty, and if he won, maybe he would go ahead an open that storefront that he and Jack had been talking about. His online catering business was steady, and quite frankly given the volume, he was going to need to expand out of Jack's kitchen sooner rather than later.

But it was a big step, and one that Bitty had been putting off. He wasn't entire sure why. His vlog was more popular than ever. His cookbook had been a bestseller. All in all, Bitty's career was doing pretty well, and he was ready for a new challenge. Of course, that could wait until after they had filmed this episode. And despite the undercurrent of anxiety that Bitty felt, he did manage to fall asleep.

The next morning dawned far too early for Bitty's liking, even if his lovely fiancé woke him up with coffee. But he's wide awake by the time they arrive at the studio and the nerves had definitely set in. It all seemed like a lot as they were hustled into wardrobe and make up. And then filming some of the filler segments like their introductions. But soon enough they were in the main studio area getting started. When the buzzer went off sounding the start of the competition, Bitty and Jack swung into action.

The first round was classic fall flavor cupcakes. So, of course, Bitty was making pumpkin spice cupcakes. He had immediately started on the batter while Jack prepped the cupcake tins and preheated the oven. They had managed this in forty minutes when practicing at home, but he was well aware that things could do differently in a foreign kitchen. Still, so far so good. It's not quite like cooking in their kitchen. There's less banter between him and Jack and perhaps a little more focus. And the awareness of cameras all around.

Bitty tried not to pay too much attention to the other competitors. He and Jack were the only men in the room besides Hunter and Adriano. Their station was across from a pair of older women with bright floral aprons. Across the aisle were two pairs of younger women. There was a pair of blonds in aggressively pink outfits, and another pair with a rather quirky sense of style. With the cupcakes in the oven, Bitty turned his attention to getting the frosting ready. Jack had already laid out all of the ingredients needed for him, so it was easy enough to get the frosting started and the cream cheese was already nice and soft.

"How are our decorations coming, sweetpea?"

"Euh, okay I think. You can take a look."

As the more artistic of the two of them, Jack had been put in charge of making little fondant pumpkin toppers for their cupcakes. A glance over at Jack side of the station showed a neat row of pumpkins and a fiancé with a very serious expression. Bitty grinned.

"Looks perfect."

Unfortunately, the cupcakes took slightly longer to bake than at home and they were not the first group to buzz in. They were, however, the second. Bitty clenched his hands behind his back as the judges came over. The guest judge was a voice actress that Bitty hadn't heard of before, but she seemed lovely.

"Remind us what we've got here," Candace said.

He took a deep breath before reply. "It's a pumpkin spice cupcake with a cream cheese frosting. There's cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top along with a fondant pumpkin topper."

Jack's hand came to rest on his back as the judges bit into the cupcakes. Bitty knew that they looked pretty good. He could only hope that they tasted just as good.

"This is very nice. I like how the cream cheese frosting cuts the sweetness of the cupcake," Candace said.

"This definitely reminds me of fall," Marisha Ray, the guest judge smiled. "It's really good."

Adriano went on to also give compliments before giving them the brief on the next round. "We'd like you to make a confection that somehow invokes traditional fall activities."

"You have a little over two hours left," Hunter told them.

Jack and Bitty traded grins. When Bitty had first gotten the information about the theme he would be getting, he'd known exactly what he wanted to make for the confection round: maple sugar crusted apple pies. Mini ones with a top made to look like autumn leaves. It should only take an hour if they were lucky. So Bitty started on his pie crust while Jack worked on the filling, and they waited for the other teams to buzz in. He didn't think they were in trouble since there had been no negative feedback on their cupcakes, but you never knew in a competition like this.

He was just starting line the pans with pastry when Hunter stepped into the middle of the room.

"Bakers, can I have your attention please? Our judges have made their first decision, and the cupcake that they took a shine to belongs to Takako and Keitha. You have the favorite cupcake of the first round which means you are safe from elimination. You can keep working on your confection." Hunter turned the rest of them. "Unfortunately though, someone needs to be eliminated, and the cupcake that didn't have our judges feeling fall flavors belongs to Karen and Tiffani. I'm sorry but your time in the Sugar Rush Kitchen has run out. Thank you so much bakers."

That was the two blonds in pink. Bitty tried to not focus on the niggling worry that they might be next and got back to work on his mini pies. Instead he focused on trying to makes the mini pies as perfect as possible. Jack was busy cutting maple leaves out of pie crust and painting them fall colors with an egg wash for the tops of the pies. Everything was looking pretty good so far. Once the pies were in the oven, then all that would be left was to wait for them to bake.

There was still another ten minutes of bake time when one of the other teams buzzed in. The judges headed over to take a look, and Bitty ducked down to peek at how the pies were baking. They looked good to his eye: no filling bubbling out and the crust looked about the right color. That had been one of the hardest parts, figuring out how to gauge the bake with the colored egg wash on the crusts. He glanced at the timer again. Five more minutes. Then the pies could come out. That would give them almost an hour of banked time when it came to the cake round.

The timer finally goes off after what seems like an unending wait. Bitty carefully transfers the pies to a cooling rack even as Jack sets out plates for serving. The trickiest bit was getting the mini pies out of the pans since he didn't want to serve them cold. But they came out without any mishaps, and Bitty was relieved to see that they'd banked fifty minutes for their next round. There was no way that he was going out on a pie.

Taking a breath and putting on a smile, he faced the judges again. "So, what you've got is a maple sugar crusted apple pie with a fall colors top crust."

"I love the crust on this," Marisha said. "It looks just like fall leaves in New England."

"The presentation is perfect," Candace said, "but let's see how it tastes."

Bitty felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest as the judges bit into his pie. It seemed to take forever for them to give any feedback.

"I think this is the best pie I've ever eaten," Adriano said.

"Are you free for Thanksgiving?" Marisha asked. "I'm willing to pay for airfare if I get pie like this."

"I really didn't think that you could get a pie, even a miniature one, done in the time and still have it taste good, but this is amazing," Candace added.

That was quite a response. Bitty felt a little faint. Jack was just smiling.

"Marisha, what do want to see in the final cake round?" Hunter asked.

"For your next challenge, we'd like you to make a three tier cake celebrating the fall. It should be highly decorated and evoke all of the coziness of an autumn afternoon."

"Eric and Jack, you've banked fifty minutes. We'll add three hour to that for your cake round bringing your total to three hours and fifty minutes. Good luck."

They immediately got to work. The trick would be to get cakes into the oven as quickly as possible. Bitty knew they needed as much time as they could get to for the construction and decorating of the cake. Jack started work on their fondant while Bitty made the cake batter. They would be using homemade fondant because Bitty thought that it tasted better, but it did cut into their time quite a bit. Still, the spice cake that Bitty was making was simple enough which would help. The cakes had just gone to the oven when Hunter stepped back into the middle of the room.

"Bakers, can I have your attention please? The judges have made their decision, and the team safe from elimination with the best apple pie anyone here has eat is Eric and Jack. You are safe from elimination right now. Continue working on your cake." Then he sighed. "Rose and Daphne, Takako and Keitha, that means unfortunately one of you will not be making it on to the cake round. And the team that will not be moving forward is Rose and Daphne."

That was the two older ladies. They had seemed pretty nice, and Bitty was a little sad to see them go. But mostly he was caught up in his own head about what came next. With the cakes in the oven, there was frosting to make and then decorations to work on. Given the theme, Bitty had decided to take inspiration from his him at Samwell. So all around the cake would be little scenes of fall activities that had been common during college from lounging on giant piles of leaves to playing football to sweaters and studying. Jack was making most of the figures for that part. Lardo had given them both a crash course in making little fondant people, but Jack seemed to have a snack for it.

The timer goes off, and Bitty rushes to check the cakes and get them in to cool. This was the worst part. There was only so much you could do before the cake was actually assembled. Everything else that they could do was just about ready. But if they tried to frost the cakes too early it would be a disaster. The frosting would melt and that could lead to all sorts of problems. But that knowledge didn't make the waiting any easier.

"You doing okay, Bud?" Jack asked.

Bitty nodded, smiling at his fiancé. He had to admit that at first he'd been a little concerned about the fact that Jack was the only one available to be his assistant for this. Jack was a help in the kitchen and a decent baking assistant; that hadn't been what he'd worried about. No, it had been more the camera's and the atmosphere which was enough to set Bitty's nerves jangling let alone Jack's. But he'd been nothing besides a rock the entire time. Maybe it was because Bitty was the center of attention rather than Jack or that it was completely different than hockey press conferences. But whatever the reason, Bitty was grateful for his calm presence.

Finally, the cake was cool enough to start assembling, and the two of them got to work frosting and covering each tier with fondant before carefully stacking the three tiers. Then the decorating could really start. Bitty started painting the backdrops on the various tiers while Jack got the rest of the decorations ready to attach to the cake. The bottom and top tiers would be autumn trees while once half of the middle tier would be a coffee shop and the other a library. Then the fondant figures would go on, and a few last minute touches would make the cake ready to go.

Time seemed to fly as the two of them assembled and decorated the cake. Every time Bitty looked up to check the clock, he couldn't believe how much time had passed. He also made the mistake of glancing over at the other team's cake at least once. They seemed to have gone in a less traditional direction than he did with a sculpted cake. So far it looked like it was going to be a giant pumpkin, but he could be wrong. It wasn't exactly all together yet.

Bitty did his best to refocus on his own work. He couldn't do anything about what the other bakers made. He could only try and make the best cake that he could possibly make here today. And it was a pretty good looking cake if he did say so himself. It also had not escaped Bitty's notice that almost all of the figures around the cake looked vaguely familiar. Nursey lounged in a pile of leaves with Dex leaning against a tree. Holster and Ransom studying in the library. Shitty and Lardo walking together. Chowder and Farmer on a date. The tadpoles playing football. There were even a pair of figures carrying hockey sticks that could be Jack and himself.

The buzzer rang out and the competition was over. Now all that was left was the final judging. Bitty wasn't sure if it was a blessing or not when his station is the first that they come to.

"Eric and Jack, this is amazing," Hunter was beaming at them.

Bitty smiled. "So, both Jack and I went to the same college in Massachusetts , and we took our inspiration from fall days there. You've got the fall colors and leaves with everything from football to studying to hot drinks from the coffee shop."

"I love how whimsical and cozy this is. It definitely takes me back to fall days," Candace said.

"All of the figures on the cake seem to have such personality that I could spend hours making up stories for each of them," Marisha added. "It's the sort of thing that I know that my friends would love to see at a party."

"I really think the two styles meshed well together," Adriano said. "Neither the painted tiers or the fondant figures look out of place. And it certainly brings fall to mind."

"If you guys would cut us for slices of your cake, we will see you at the judges' table."

With that they were gone. He and Jack traded a look.

"That went well, eh?"

"They still have to taste it though."

He carefully cut for slices of the cake and transferred them onto plates. It was a good distraction from whatever the judges were doing with the other team. Bitty didn't need to hear how they had done. That probably would just make him more nervous. But sooner rather than later, the two remaining teams were standing in front of the judges table, waiting for judges to actually try their cakes.

"We are first going to have Takako and Keitha's cake. Ladies, if you'd walk us through your flavors."

The taller of the two women spoke. "It's a pumpkin chocolate chip cake with a chocolate frosting."

"Yum. I love the combination of the pumpkin and chocolate. It gives a great texture to the cake," Candace told them.

"It's a nice moist cake," Adriano told them. "It's a little on the sweet side for me, but its definitely one of the better pumpkin cakes I've had."

"It's a great cake," Marisha told them. "Definitely something I would eat again."

Hunter nodded. "Okay, judges, let's try the other cake."

The judges took sips of the water and switched plates. Bitty felt Jack rest a comforting hand on the small of his back.

"We made a spice cake with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting. There's also a thin layer of marshmallow fondant on top of that."

"I was really surprised by how tasty this fondant is. Normally, it's not something I really enjoy on a cake, but this works," Candace said.

Adriano nodded. "The flavors in your cake are fantastic. The mix of spices is perfect, and the texture is just right. This is an excellent cake."

"See, I'm just really sad that you're based on the East Coast," Marisha said. "I could eat this every day. I didn't really think I liked spice cakes, but you've really changed my mind."

"Now there's only one decision left to make," Hunter announced. "Bakers, ten thousand dollar is hanging in the balance now. It's time to decide who had the judges' favorite cake."

Bitty gripped Jack's hand. This was it.

"Candace, who had your favorite cake?"

"Both of you had strong flavors and great presentation. But one cake screamed fall to me just a little bit more. My vote goes to Takako and Keitha."

Bitty bit his lip. It was only one vote so far. There was at least one more before they were sunk.

"Takako and Keitha, that's one vote for you. If you get one more vote, you will have won ten thousand dollars in the Sugar Rush kitchen," Hunter reminded them. "Adriano, who had your favorite cake?"

"Like Candace said, you both had strong flavors. For me though, one of you was just a bit stronger overall. My vote goes to Eric and Jack."

"Eric and Jack, that's one vote for you. That means, Marisha, you have the tie breaking vote."

Bitty held his breath, waiting for the final verdict. Jack squeezed his hand gently.

"This was really tough competition. You both made really amazing cakes, and they both tasted amazing. In the end though, I do have to go with the one that really transported me to what felt like a perfect cozy autumn day. My vote goes to Eric and Jack."

"Congratulations, Eric and Jack, you guys have won the Sugar Rush kitchen today and ten thousand dollars."

Jack wrapped him in a hug. "Good job, Bits."

Of course, that wasn't the end of it. There were more little interview segments to film, and then a debrief and reminder that they couldn't talk about the episode and what had happened until after it had aired. By the time the two of them finally returned to their hotel room, neither of them wanted to do anything except fall into bed. Jack did chivvy him into eating something, but they both were out almost as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

Going home was a little anticlimactic. Especially since they couldn't say anything about what had happened. Still, there was plenty to keep Bitty occupied until the airing of the episode in the fall. He had started to look for a storefront that would suit him in Providence as well as beginning to put together a plan for his bakery. He probably wouldn't actually open up shop until the spring, but that gave plenty of time for any renovations to the space that were needed as well as giving Bitty time to figure out a marketing campaign and a menu. Lardo was working on a logo for him, and Dex had promised to help him with the website.

It was all coming together. And by the time that new season of Sugar Rush hit Netflix, the watch party had been well planned. Dex, Chowder, and Nursey had all come down from Samwell as well as Shitty, Lardo, Holster, and Ransom. It's a mini-Haus reunion, and Bitty is ready for it. There are baked goods for snacks that match what he made for the episode and a pie as well. He knows it will all be gone by the time the episode is over most likely, but he's used their appetites after all these years.

And there's something quite enjoyable about being one of the only two people watching who knows how things are going to bend. Neither he nor Jack have actually seen the episode though, and Bitty's quite curious to find out what the finished product might look like. And he was a little curious to find out more about the judges' thoughts on his baking. So with eager anticipation, they queued up the episode and started it.

Watching the episode was rather different than living it. For one thing, there were a lot of parts that Bitty didn't really remember. Some of that was probably because he'd been so focused on his own baking. For example, he had totally missed the fact that Karen and Tiffani had needed to remake their frosting or that Takako and Keitha had a minor disaster when constructing their pumpkin cake into a jack-o'-lantern. It was also rather interesting seeing things from the judges' perspective.

Bitty hadn't realized just how skeptical of his pies the two professional judges had been. On the upside, his bakes had been Marisha's favorites every time. He was going to have to see if he could send her a pie in L.A. And maybe check out the webshow she was involved in; it sounded interesting. He also got teased quite a bit by his friends about how adorable he and Jack came off. Bitty didn't think that they acted that different than they normally did.

"Brah, you two are the epitome of adorable on a regular basis," Holster told him. "I'm pretty sure you're going to be #relationshipgoals for a lot of people after this."

He wasn't so sure about that, but there were worse things. It was also a lot of fun to watch his friends' reactions to the events unfolding. Bitty and Jack were the only ones who knew exactly how things would play out, and they had decided to do their best not to give anything away. Given the cheers when the episode reached its end, you would think that another Stanley Cup had been won. They watch a few more episodes from the season, though with not as great attention to what going on in the competition.

Bitty cuddled into Jack's embrace and let himself relax. They made a pretty good team, no matter what the setting.


End file.
